By the time “new” technology finds its way to market, it will have been in development for a number of years and the “new to market” version will be the first marketable iteration of the product, but not necessarily the fully developed one.

Think mobile phones, they started out as brick sized devices with very limited range. As they were developed, they became smaller until a folding clamshell model could be hidden in the palm of your hand. As the software side of the product developed, mobile phones became total communications devices, diaries, cameras, watches, music players developing almost into hand held computers.

The car industry is similar in its evolution, from Henry Ford’s Model T to Elon Musk’s Model 3 and more recently, from internal combustion to electric power, which has been the biggest automotive development this century. As a recent new chapter in motoring history, even the electric vehicle (EV) is now being talked about in its second generation.

The use of electric power to drive a car is a massive change in technology and like other new technologies, we are seeing the first generation of a product which will change dramatically even in the near future. The major changes being mooted already are with the batteries used to store the energy and drive the electric motors.

Electric vehicles are powered at present, by large, heavy, lithium-ion batteries, the technology of which has been around for decades as the power packs for mobile phones and laptop computers. The upside of that is that as a proven technology with little in the way of development costs coupled with the batteries now being manufactured in larger quantities, the cost makes them more affordable.

Lithium-ion batteries use a liquid electrolyte as part of their function, as opposed to solid-state batteries. Solid-state batteries replace this liquid with solid materials such as ceramics rather than liquid, hence the name. This allows more power to be stored in a smaller battery and also improves the charge time as well as having the benefit of reducing the risk of fire, as the liquid electrolytes can be highly flammable. Sodium-ion batteries are also being developed as an alternative to lithium-ion as the cost of lithium is high and its availability is limited. These new technology batteries are in general terms, tomorrow’s solutions 

One of the factors concerning prospective electric vehicle buyers is the non-standard equipment when looking to recharge. Electric cars come with a variety of charging systems, depending on the manufacturer, meaning an array of different cables and charging sockets. Longer journeys therefore need to be planned to ensure that the battery is fully charged when leaving and that relevant, compatible fast-chargers are available to top up when necessary during the trip.

We have already said that battery technology is still evolving and the technology around battery charging isn’t standing still either. We have moved from chargers to fast chargers and are now seeing ultra-fast chargers appearing on forecourts. These developments will speed up the charging process but will do nothing to alleviate the confusion over charging leads and sockets. Taking away the need to have charging leads and plug-in sockets would. It would be much easier if electric cars could be recharged wirelessly.

Some small electrical devices, such as mobile phones, which also use lithium-ion batteries, can already be charged up wirelessly using a process called electromagnetic induction. Wireless charging for electric vehicles would be simply a matter of upscaling the existing technology and is already under development. Many vehicle manufacturers, automotive suppliers and technology businesses are already seeing this as the next big thing which could be a real game changer for the electric vehicle market.

Electromagnetic induction uses an alternating mains current to create a magnetic field in a pad installed on the road surface, this then generates another current in a second coil fitted to the underside of the vehicle, which then converts the transmitted power into direct current, which is used to recharge the battery.

This “new” technology has been under development for some time and is now under trial in a number of cities and with a number of car manufacturers. If these trials prove successful, we may soon see wireless charge pads being installed alongside plug in charge points in public charging areas and should simultaneously see new vehicles being offered with this technology as part of the vehicle’s specification.

The driver of a vehicle fitted with this technology would simply park over the charging pad on the road surface ensuring they match the pad on the road to the pad on the underside of their vehicle, probably under guidance from the vehicle’s information system - in the same way as the parking sensors give us assistance in parking - connect using an app on their smartphone and pay by credit or debit card. All this without the need to step out of the vehicle in inclement weather or into a quiet, dark area of a forecourt during the hours of darkness.

Wireless charging technology will become the norm in the not too distant future, because it offers an additional convenience to our driving and looking at most modern cars, much of the technology available is there for our convenience. Seeing how long the rollout of plug-in charging points in public areas is taking, wireless charging will in all probability be, once again, a gradual roll out. Car manufacturers can help in this by producing “wireless ready” vehicles and with any luck the industry can work quickly toward a standardised system which would maximise the benefit to the driver of this convenient development in charging technology.

One of the most common complaints we hear about electric vehicles by those of us contemplating their next vehicle, is around charging. Fossil fuelled vehicles may be facing extinction as they become the dinosaurs of the motorways, but one benefit they will be remembered for, is that they were simple and quick to refuel. Surely though, sitting in the comfort of your vehicle for twenty minutes or so, sipping a coffee, while using a wireless charging point must beat braving the near horizontal rain on a cold and windy forecourt to fill up with your fuel of choice.

If you are looking for help with any electrical issues, you may find some of these services useful: